My Name Is Gal: the story of Gal Costa, for better or for worse, is deeply interconnected both with the story of the Tropicália musical movement and the hardening of the military dictatorship. In addition, Dandara Ferreira and Lô Politi’s biopic of Gal establishes her as a deeply private person, so the feeling that she is a supporting character in her own film rears its head every so often; some of her decisions and changes of mind feel undercooked, and her character, underdeveloped and uninteresting. Sophie Charlotte plays the protagonist credibly but unspectacularly; the film leans towards her melancholia of being unable to do what she wants the most, and Charlotte projects that well enough. The cast is large, but Luis Lobianco, who plays her manager, is the one who is given more space to shine with his colourful character.

The film’s period recreation is solid and well captured by the solid camerawork of cinematographer Pedro Sotero. The sound design has one peculiarity: while Sophie Charlotte performs some songs, the original recordings with Gal’s voice are also used. In those, the voice tracks are often too low, making it harder to understand the lyrics. Of course, appreciation for Gal Costa’s oeuvre will help in appreciating the film as whole.